'He's always been a brother to us': Villanova Augustinian prior reflects on future Pope Leo XIV

By Gina Christian, OSV News

VILLANOVA, Pa. (OSV News) -- Augustinian Father Robert Hagan said that fellow order member Pope Leo XIV has "always been a brother to us" -- one who encouraged him from his early days to his own leadership role in the order.

Father Hagan, prior provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, told OSV News he was in the order's novitiate when he first met then-Father Robert Prevost, having been assigned to an Augustinian-run parish in Racine, Wisconsin, for a spiritual year in the Midwest Augustinian Province.

"He's about 10 years older than me … so when I entered -- and I was a bit of a later vocation -- he was already well on his way in his life as an Augustinian," said Father Hagan.

After a career as a criminal defense attorney, the future Father Hagan was "a newbie … a rookie" to religious life.

"That is what 'novice' means," he said. "I didn't know much about the life of an Augustinian, what it means. And here he is, welcoming me, introducing me to other friars and brothers in the Chicago province, … encouraging me, you know, in my vocation."

Father Hagan said the future pope bolstered him with exhortations to "persevere" and "hang in there," saying the order offered "a good life."

That advice was all the more appreciated by the Augustinian novice, who admitted that "there's something humbling about coming into the order after having had a career."

"Quite frankly, when you're in Augustinian formation, nobody really cares much about your career," said Father Hagan. "You're kind of like back at the bottom of the totem pole, kind of learning the rule of St. Augustine, and this way of life and the vows. That doesn't mean that you don't bring who you were and your experience … but I think there's so much being thrown at you in terms of what you don't know, and so … where you were and what you were doing isn't as important as what you still need to learn in terms of your Augustinian formation and growth."

But the future pope -- who holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum -- "was actually interested in what I did do," said Father Hagan.

"We spoke about the law, and I could tell that he had a real appreciation for that," said Father Hagan. "And I think that would just be typical of the way he would relate to really anyone -- that he would be interested in you, in where you come from, and what's on your mind and your heart."

As Father Hagan pursued his vocation -- which included being named team chaplain for Villanova University's football and men's basketball teams, as well as the school's senior associate athletic director -- he would "kind of overlap" with the future pope at Augustinian functions.

"A lot of times you're celebrating the vows of another friar or ordination, and so you would see him from time to time, as friends do," said Father Hagan.

When Father Hagan was elected three years ago as prior provincial of the St. Thomas of Villanova Province, "one of the first emails I received" was from the future pope, he said.

"He's had leadership positions, and he sent me this very warm, affirming note of congratulations and offering prayers and support," Father Hagan said. "And I think it was just somebody who knew some of the burden of leadership and the responsibilities involved. And he was offering me his support as a brother."

The moment the newly chosen Pope Leo XIV "emerged on that balcony, for a lot of us … was just surreal and breathtaking," sparking "surprise and shock and joy and enthusiasm," said Father Hagan. "It was like a family member had been announced and stepped out there."

And his Augustinian family doesn't mind bragging a bit, he added.

"What we know (as) then-Bob Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV … is a gift to the world because he is uber-smart," said Father Hagan, pointing to the multiple languages spoken by the pope -- among them Latin, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, along with his native English.

But along with his academic and intellectual prowess, the new pope is "so much like (St.) Augustine" in that "there is an intersection of the head and the heart, the scholar and the person who has compassion for the poor and for all of God's people," Father Hagan explained. "And so the more you reflect, the more you can see what the College of Cardinals must have seen. … We believe that in and through that process is the Holy Spirit -- that it was ultimately the hand of God that chose him."

Father Hagan highlighted the future pope's years of ministry in Peru, "working with the poorest of the poor," as well as the entire arc of his vocation -- "in formation, working as director in the seminary, as a teacher, as a preacher" -- saying, "all those gifts now come to bear (fruit) for the world."

And, Father Hagan said, "the world is the beneficiary, the flock."

The new pope "will immerse himself in the culture and listen to the struggle, listen to the heart, and listen to voices that aren't always at the table," he said. "(He will) listen to the poor, listen to those on the margins."

Father Hagan described Pope Leo's leadership style as "very Augustinian, because Augustine was about two things, and not one or the other -- contemplation and action," mirroring Christ's own earthly ministry.

"No one was busier than Jesus," said Father Hagan. "He was healing and working and preaching and talking and building, but along with that, consistently, you see in Scripture, he went up the mountain to pray. He went into the boat to pray. He went into the garden before he was crucified to pray. … He took his strength and his wisdom and his direction from the Father."

Father Hagan said that with Pope Leo, "you're going to see his ability to listen to the Lord and to the counsel and wisdom that is around him," along with an ability "to reflect and to pray.

"He's a person who reflects before he speaks," said Father Hagan.

And, said the priest, "He's always been a brother to us, you know?"